Earlier in 2024, Cable reporter Sean Morrison found himself sitting in on a presentation to officers of Avon and Somerset Police, on the subject of stop-and-search powers, a few months after the force’s chief constable Sarah Crew publicly stated that the organisation was institutionally racist.
Not an occasion, you might imagine, for banter – especially with a journalist present. But, Sean remembers, the tone in the room was “really light”, which after recently listening to young people share traumatic experiences of stop-and-search, made his “blood boil”.
In this week’s episode of People Just Do Something, the Cable’s brand-new podcast exploring the boundaries of activism, we get into why this matters with Habib Kadiri.
Habib is the executive director of StopWatch, a charity that aims to “turn a spotlight” on stop-and-search, and campaigns against the overpolicing of marginalised communities – something the Cable has also been focusing on recently through our No To Section 60 series about ‘suspicionless’ stop-and-search .
So of all the controversial powers that police wield, why is stop-and-search such an important one? What are your rights, if it happens to you? And can communities targeted by stop-and-search do anything to push back?
Join Sean, along with regular host Isaac Kneebone-Hopkins, for an exploration of these issues and more. And with the first season of People Just Do Something almost finished, don’t forget to come back in a fortnight’s time – Isaac and his usual co-host Priyanka will be back for one last hurrah before they get to work plotting the next instalments.
The first series of People Just Do Something will run from August to October, with six episodes coming out every two weeks. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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